Saint Peter's Choir presents Johann Sebastian Bach's beloved Cantata 140, "Wachet auf" on Sunday, November 9 at the 11:00 AM Mass at Saint Peter's Church. The choir is joined by instruments specified by Bach in the original score. The image to the left is the Bassoon score to the Symphonia in Bach's own hand.

About the work

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake, calls the voice to us), BWV 140 is one of Johann Sebastian Bach's most beloved cantatas. Composed for the 27th Sunday after Trinity (in the liturgical cycle used at the time), it was premiered in Leipzig on November 25, 1731.

The chorale, "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" by Philipp Nicolai (1599), is the music and text on which the entire chorale is based. The fourth movement later became the basis for the first of Bach's Schübler Chorales (BWV 645).

You can listen to the performance (audio only) at Soundcloud or watch the video at Vimeo.